Risk Education in Northern Jordan

Risk Education in Northern Jordan
In 2013 and 2014, the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at James Madison University led a project funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA) to provide explosive remnants of war risk education to Syrian refugees living in
urban areas of northern Jordan. At the time, it was unclear whether the hundreds of thousands of
Syrians fleeing the civil conflict and seeking refuge in neighboring countries would be able to return
home in the near future, but there was still significant hope this would happen.
by Lindsay Aldrich, Suzanne Fiederlein and Jessica Rosati [ Center for International Stabilization and Recovery ]
surrounding areas. The project was designed to include multiple demographics and deliver sustainable, peer-to-peer
messaging. The Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan’s national mine action authority,
the National Committee for Demining
and Rehabilitation (NCDR), led RE
and train-the-trainer courses with
groups of men and women, and a team
from Life Line for Consultancy and
Rehabilitation (LLCR) conducted artsbased RE workshops with children.
Train-the-trainer Risk Education
NCDR developed and led a series of
Students working on the mural at Princess Alia Bint Al Hussein school.
Photo courtesy of Kamel Sa’adi/LLCR.
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five interactive workshops using a teambased coaching methodology to train
75 adult Syrian refugees (26 women and
ue to years of conf lict and frequently reported
49 men) equally representing the northern, central and south-
use of conventional weapons by multiple actors,
ern areas of Syria. The participants learned RE safety messag-
the humanitarian mine action community rec-
es and how to work in teams to effectively communicate these
ognized that homes and communities inside Syria would
messages in the future among peers. The goal was to prepare
most certainly be contaminated with explosive remnants
civilian participants to serve as community resources of ERW
of war (ERW). Returning civilians would face explosive
safety information in order to extend the project’s reach be-
hazards previously unknown to daily life in Syria. They
yond those refugees directly receiving the training by NCDR.
would not have the necessary education and systems in
To recruit workshop participants, NCDR staff distributed
place to help prevent injury and death from these hazards.
invitations to Syrian refugees living in Al-Mafraq, and host-
To prepare the displaced Syrians for encountering these
ed informational meetings to present the program and an-
new threats, if and when they would be able to return to
swer questions. NCDR received more than 175 applications
Syria, CISR worked with two Jordanian organizations to con-
of interest from the target group. Using a selection process es-
duct risk education (RE) programs in the city of Mafraq and
tablished in coordination with the Center for International
focus | the journal of ERW and mine action | December 2015 | 19.3
Training for adult Syrian refugees was held in March 2014. Participants learned about risk education and how to convey the messages among peers.
Photo courtesy of Lindsay Aldrich/CISR.
Stabilization and Recovery (CISR), NCDR identified a pool of
Arts-based Risk Education
potential candidates from among the applicants and select-
LLCR is a Jordanian national nonprofit that assists survi-
ed groups of 15 participants to attend one of the five, 13-day
vors with physical, emotional and financial needs, while also
workshops offered between January and May 2014.
striving to educate the public about persons with disabilities
Each workshop utilized a coaching methodology to con-
and landmine hazards through RE.1
vey the RE messages to participants as well as to teach the
LLCR worked closely alongside NCDR to arrange with
trainees how to convey messages themselves and effectively
government ministry officials, school administrators, staff
present similar workshops to peers. Throughout each of the
and UNICEF officials the implementation of workshops in
training workshops, the trainees displayed high levels of par-
schools in the Al-Mafraq governorate. With UNICEF’s as-
ticipation through discussion, group work, role-play activi-
sistance, schools in Al-Mafraq have split schedules for Syrian
ties and presentation-based learning.
and Jordanian children to accommodate the ongoing influx of
During group learning activities, men and women worked
Syrian refugee children in the Jordanian educational system.
together in teams to complete assignments, emphasizing the
Staff at LLCR combined their RE expertise with local arts
importance of co-ed collaboration to maximize the reach and
teams recruited through the Remal Arts Center, which part-
overall effectiveness of future ERW safety activities within
nered with LLCR on the We Love Life project from 2009 to 2010.
participants’ communities. At other times, such as during
A team of artists experienced in creating murals joined LLCR
meals and breaks, participants tended to self-segregate based
to plan the workshops that combined RE sessions with art in-
on gender. The flow of the workshop activities created an envi-
struction focused on drawing and translating the RE messag-
ronment that respected individual comfort levels but encour-
es into sketches and murals. A total of 25 RE workshops were
aged workplace collaboration.
held at three schools in Al-Mafraq governorate. The workshops
19.3 | December 2015 | the journal of ERW and mine action | focus
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involved Jordanian students in the morning and Syrian students in the afternoon,
working together to complete murals designed by students from each school.
LLCR conducted the workshops at
two schools for 200 students each and
at a third school for 100 students, with
LLCR arts team members returning to
the schools to conduct follow-up work on
the murals after each set of workshops.
The messages in the artwork promoted the overall meaning behind the RE
workshops with phrases such as Be Safe
and We Love Life, as well as other warnings about the dangers of ERW and land-
The complete mural at Princess Alia Bint Al Hussein school.
Photo courtesy of Kamel Sa’adi/LLCR.
mines. A total of 400 girls and 100 boys
than 20,000 school items distributed
year and into the summer of 2015 as
between the ages of 10 and 17 participat-
became a useful way to reinforce RE
part of its ongoing RE in areas where the
ed in LLCR’s school art workshops. The
messages and provide children with per-
majority of Syrian refugees in Jordan
murals containing the RE messages help
sistent reminders based upon their own
had settled outside of the official refu-
share these messages among the broader
artwork, especially as the Jordanian ed-
gee camps.
population of students, teachers, admin-
ucation system requires sketchbooks
istrators and families.
and notebooks for everyday classroom
use. LLCR also delivered 2015 wall cal-
Originally, an arts-celebration event
work produced by students during the
endars displaying the students’ RE
was planned at the conclusion of the
workshops, were turned into RE mate-
artwork to local officials, school admin-
workshops for schoolchildren to share
rials (sketchbooks, notebooks, stickers,
istrators, community groups and busi-
information about the arts project and
wall calendars) and distributed to the
nesses to increase the scope and impact
distribute finished materials to students
schoolchildren shortly after the start
of the materials. NCDR continued to
and the community. However, due to
of the 2014–2015 school year. The more
distribute materials during the school
the changing context in Jordan at the
Participants draw pictures to help design the murals.
Photo courtesy of Kamel Sa’adi/LLCR.
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Project Continuation and Legacy
Practical school items, featuring art-
focus | the journal of ERW and mine action | December 2015 | 19.3
time, the project team decided instead
to build on the existing We Love Life
website from the previous arts-based RE
program to create a web space for sharing information and images about the
current project. The website (http://bit.
ly/1Eet4uU) explains how the workshops were organized and conducted,
and shows the artwork and RE materials
the children produced. By providing
photos of the arts activities, artwork
created by the children and arts-based
RE materials online, other schools,
teachers and practitioners can continue
to access these resources and gain ideas
for continuing this type of safetyawareness work to help protect children
and communities in Jordan and other
ERW-affected places.
See endnotes page 66
The artwork was also used to design printed RE materials.
Photo courtesy of Kamel Sa’adi/LLCR.
Lindsay Aldrich joined CISR in 2013
as the senior project manager/program
coordinator and has helped to manage
projects involving disability rights, information management, mine risk education and senior management training.
She holds a Master of Public Administration in public and nonprofit management
from James Madison University and was
the 2012–2013 Frasure-Kruzel-Drew Memorial Fellow for Humanitarian Demining in the Office of Weapons Removal
and Abatement at the U.S. Department
of State. Prior to working in mine action, she managed educational and leadership programs in higher education
and the private and nonprofit sectors.
Lindsay Aldrich
Senior Project Manager/
Program Coordinator
Center for International
Stabilization and Recovery
James Madison University
MSC 4902
Harrisonburg, VA 22807 / USA
Tel: +1 540 568 5705
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/cisr
Dr. Suzanne Fiederlein joined CISR in
1999, and served as senior research associate and victim-assistance team leader before becoming associate director
in 2010. She has worked on projects related to victim assistance, mine risk education (managed the We Love Life ERW
Awareness project in Jordan), mine action in Latin America, International Mine
Action Standards and mine action casualty data systems. As coordinator of
CISR’s management training, she directs
the Senior Managers’ Course in ERW
and Mine Action conducted at James
Madison University (JMU) and in regional locations (Tajikistan and Vietnam).
She received her doctorate in political
science from the University of Arizona
and has taught on the faculty of JMU
and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Suzanne Fiederlein, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Center for International
Stabilization and Recovery
Tel: +1 540 568 2718
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/cisr
Jessica Rosati joined CISR in May 2013
as a program assistant for its Senior
Managers’ Course in ERW and Mine Action and is now the assistant program
manager. She graduated from James
Madison University (JMU) in 2014 with
a Bachelor of Science in global justice
and policy, and a minor in humanitarian affairs. During her time at JMU, she
held the position of leader for international networking and knowledge as an
orientation guide and mentor for the international student population. Prior to
CISR, she worked as an intern for JMU’s
Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence and Human Rights Watch.
Jessica Rosati
Assistant Project Manager/
Research Specialist
Center for International
Stabilization and Recovery
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/cisr
19.3 | December 2015 | the journal of ERW and mine action | focus
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